Paint Chip Poetry
Along with the sestina exercise, this is an attempt to get the group to realize that it's possible to write poetry and have fun doing it. This is not about writing good poetry. It's about enjoying the ways you can play with words.
Preparation:
Go to your local hardware or paint store, and flip through their sample cards. A lot of paint colours have really great names. I have things like "night tide", "friar's robe" and "old green enamel". Pick cards with names you think sound inspiring and interesting. Try for a variety of colour. I have reds and purples, browns and greens and even some whites.
When you get home, cut apart the cards (there's generally more than one paint colour on a card) and put them in a plastic bag or a hat.
Your Assignment:
Draw one of the paint chips from the bag. Write the letters of the paint colour down the side of your page, one on each line, like this:
R
E
D
(Well, you won't get a name that simple, but this is just an example.)
Then, write a poem, where the first letter of each line are the letters you have written down. Use the colour as an inspiration. Here's one I came up with as I was writing this explanation:
Red flowers in a vase on a hospital table,
Even now their heads wilting, as my love lies
Dying.
You get the idea. It doesn't have to be good. It just has to be writing. Some people may get longer colour names than others, so give them some time. When I did this exercise it went pretty fast. I'd allow about 15-20 minutes for this exercise.***